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  1. When you say "Lye", I take it you mean Sodium Hydroxide, right?
    I ask because Potassium Hydroxide & Calcium Hydroxide (or mixtures of various proportions of all three) are also called "Lye" in different places 'round the world.

    For example, an alkaline solution of Calcium Hydroxide & water (called "Lime Water") is used to convert Corn Kernels to Masa (the basis for tortillas & taco shells) in many South American countries…

    I'd be curious to see just what would be different about the pretzels, if a different (food grade) metallic alkaline salt was used to prep it.

  2. i feel like it’s my duty to ease some of y’all’s minds when it comes to working with lye, as a German, a med student with a background in chemistry and a passion for cooking, i just keep on ticking bullshit bingo boxes.

    Okay so, yeah, lye can be dangerous in very specific conditions, but this issue is blown way out of proportion. Let me go through the points:

    The Caustic effect of Sodium Hydroxide (Lye) is very much dependent on the concentration of the aqueous solution it’s contained in. If it’s in pure, anhydrous form or dissolved in high concentrations, it can cause damage to the skin and eyes. It’s the eyes part you should worry about, so wear some basic safety glasses. It’s also wise to use regular nitrile gloves, long ones even better, but don’t be too scared of it. The duration of onset is vastly understated, if you get some splashes on you, do wash it off, but if you do it in a minute or two, you won’t even notice the effect outside of a bit dryer skin. Again, the higher the concentration, the faster it works, but you do have time to wash it off with baking soda dissolved in water. The thing is, you will only be handling those when diluting initially. The splashy baking work should be done with a dilute solution already prepared, and then you really have a good bit of time as long as your eyes are covered. I’ve experienced it myself countless time, don’t judge, I was a huge chemistry nerd as a teen (still am).

    Another thing to keep in mind is that dissolving lye in water is exothermic, it generates heat. Do it outside or in a well ventilated area with pre cooled water and go slow. If you do, and you only use enough to create the dilute solution you will need, you will be perfectly safe.

    Let me recap:

    -Cover your eyes and wear nitrile gloves
    -plan beforehand how much lye you will need for your solution
    -plan for heat generated by pre cooling water and go slow adding the lye
    -prepare baking soda solution for neutralizing splashes

    And you will be PERFECTLY fine! enjoy your proper Brezeln and the fun science project ahead of you lol. If you’re wondering, you can discard the lye in your drain just fine after dumping baking soda in until it doesn’t fizz anymore.

  14. We used baking soda for pretzel bagels at the bakery I used to work at. They were delicious! I also would not have trusted most of my coworkers around lye so I'm glad we never had to use it, lol

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